UN envoy urges Liberians to prevent mob violence; another police station opened

Speaking at the opening of a new police station in Liberia, which was built by Nigerian blue helmets, the United Nations envoy to the West African country has called on local people to prevent mob violence while a senior Liberian police officer has urged his colleagues to be “servants of the community.”

The station, which is in New Kru Town Community in the capital Monrovia, will be staffed by officers from Liberia’s National Police (LNP) and will serve around 28,000 people in the surrounding area, the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) said in a press release.

“You should report any criminal activity or suspicious behaviour to the police,” the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Alan Doss, said at the weekend opening ceremony. “Any return to mob violence could be dangerous for Liberia’s stability. Do not be misled by rumours.”

Mr. Doss thanked the Nigerian UN peacekeepers for constructing the police station and also reassured local people that security remained UNMIL’s top priority, pointing out that additional police and military patrols had been conducting night patrols in high crime areas.

Also speaking at the opening, LNP Deputy Inspector-General Gayflor Tarpeh encouraged the police officers of the New Kru Town station to be “servants and not bosses of the people in the community,” adding that they must “dispense justice without fear or favour.”

The building of the new police station is the latest of ongoing efforts by the UN to help Liberia rebuild after a brutal 14-year civil war.